Dilemma

[Ian]

I've been doing a job this week where the customers had a very strict budget for me to work to, when I went round to price it it was very obvious that even a re-skim of the walls wouldn't be good enough to sort the bathroom out, it really needed taking back to the brick and reboarding, but this would have added another £500 to the bill which they couldn't afford so I agreed to tile over the walls as they were (sorted out all the dips etc as normal) the room has turned out better than I expected, but it took a lot of packing out which I'm not happy doing (they were thin ceramics so no weight issues thankfully). They are really happy with it but I can see a few places that could have turned out better especially the cuts to the ceiling which vary from 160mm to 200mm. If I refused to do it without a reboard I would have lost the job, so, do you take on a job knowing it won't be 100% or walk away and lose a weeks work? Don't get me wrong, I've not cut any corners or used inferior products or fixing techniques, it's just that I'm only 95% happy with the outcome.

 

[johnryan]

the way i see it is if you hadn't have done it, they may have got someone else in who may have made a real dogs dinner out of it. i think part of the skill of tiling is being able to make the best job possible with what you have available, and if the client isn't prepared to lay out to get 100% then you find a balance to get as close to it as you can. if you've explained the situation to them, and they say go ahead, then it's your skill that has given them a better job than a lot of other people would have. in short, they were lucky to get you in to do the job, and some of the points you're not happy with wouldn't even be noticed by joe public in general. i for one wouldn't be turning work down atm, and if the client has had things explained properly i don't really see a problem with doing jobs like that. and when they come out above expectations, as they always do, that's even better.

 

[Ian]

They were over the moon with the job, I just get a bit critical especially when I know somethings could have been done better if more time/money was available. It's not a perfect world though is it!!!

 

[johnryan]

i know exactly what you mean. most of the jobs i get have very tight budgets, and there's inevitably something i stress over due to lack of money, but not things that normal people would ever notice. i think we tilers can get way too over picky with our own work sometimes.

 

[Andy Allen]

its no different than tiling with the B&Q specials, you do the best job you can with what you got to work with.

 

[mikethetile]

as long as they are happy, they are the paying customer and are aware you did the best with what you had to work with

 

[Stewart]

As long as you gave them your usual high standard of finish then it's fine. We can't always get the budget to do the ideal prep, but as long as we use our skills to give a top job without cutting corners, then all's well.

 

[The D]

if i have work and don't need the stress i will walk but if the bills have to be payed a job is a job.

 

[hillhead]

I'm refusing nothing at the moment, 3 days this week and same, tight budget on it but turned out well( would have liked bigger and better tiles).

 

[doug boardley]

unfortunately Bri, sometimes we have to take the rough with the smooth. We can't always have pan flat walls and unlimited budget.

 

[DHTiling]

who locked it.. Doug..:lol:

 

[doug boardley]

who locked it.. Doug..:lol:

did I close thread Dave???? (I'm on my old lappy and keyboard is laid out different, so apologies if I did!!)

 

[DHTiling]

Yep, you did..:lol:

 

[Spud]

bri I know the budget was tight but how much did the extra adhesive for the packing out cost and how much extra time was involved ? if you spent too much on this it may have been cheaper to take the time to skim the walls with addy before tiling ,i find that an hour's worth of chopping out bumps with a hatchet hammer and then filling out the hollows with a straight edge pays dividends as the tiles go up quicker and flatter than all the packing out and buttering up needed if you dont do this ,i wouldn't be too worried about the ceiling being so far out as long as the set out looked well and would just tell the tight wad customer that he should get the ceiling corrected when he has saved up a bit more money

 

[Rob Z]

Hi Bri, tough issue that we all face.

All of us want to do a perfect job. And a perfect job isn't possible, and even if it were possible, very few out there are ready to pay to get a perfect job (or at least to try for it).

So, taken to its logical extreme, if we all set our standards where we want them to be then likely most of us would be sitting around a lot of the time. You really have to do what you have to do to stay in business. I read on another internet forum some time ago a statement made by a tile setter, and it went like this:

"What's up with people? THey buy a $50,000 Cadillac and get a 3 year warrantly. They pay me $3000 to tile their shower and they want perfection and a job that will be done quickly and last a lifetime. I'm not giving them that for $3000".

You can apply your own figures and expamples to meet your situation, but I get the point made by that anonymous poster long ago.

It's all a big juggling act, trying to balance all aspects of the business, or at least for me it is. And that is what has taken a lot of the fun out of the trade for me.